Resistance bands or tubing are used as an alternative to free weights or weight machines for resistance training of muscle groups. Resistance tubing has been used with a harness device to allow a user to progress through natural motions, such as walking, running or jumping, while subjected to the resistance offered by the tubing.
Published U.S. patent application 2003/0130098 describes a training device for training a gliding sport athlete such as a skater, this device including a belt that is secured about the waist of the athlete. The belt has a front portion adapted to be worn adjacent the navel area and left and right side portions to be worn adjacent the right and left hips. A pair of foot attachments are adapted to be fastened to front portions of the athlete's feet or footwear. The device includes a first pair of cords having one end of each cord connected to the belt and another end connected to one of the foot attachments so as to position the first pair of cords on each side of the right knee of the athlete when in use. There is also a second pair of cords having one end connected to the belt and another end connected to another of the foot attachments so as to position the second pair of cords on each side of left knee of the athlete. Each of the cords has an unstretched length less than a length between the athlete's waist and his or her feet.
It is also known to provide a similar training device for walkers and runners, this device also employing a harness mounted around the waist of the user to which resistance tubes can be attached. The ends of the tubes are attached to the footwear of the user, for example, to the user's running shoes.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,179,760 dated Jan. 30, 2001 describes an exercise device for assisting a rider's leg muscles during cycling. Elastic members are worn on the legs such that the elastic members will stretch on the downstroke of the pedals and will contract on the upstroke to release energy and thereby assist the legs to rotate the pedals. The elastic members can be attached to a waist member worn about the waist of the cyclist.
Despite these known training devices and mechanisms, including other well known training machines, there is a need for an improved training apparatus to develop the legs of athletes, particularly those of skaters and hockey players. There is a particular need for such training apparatus that can be manufactured at a reasonable cost and that can be used with or can include elongate, elastic resistive members or tubes.
According to one embodiment of the training apparatus of this invention, a training apparatus for skaters comprises a cover made of flexible fabric for wearing over pants or shorts, this cover having a front and a back and including an upper tubular section adapted for extending around a skater's lower body. The cover further includes attached left and right leg sections extending from a bottom end of the upper tubular section and adapted for covering at least upper portions of the skater's legs. Connectors are mounted on both the front and the back of the cover, these connectors including upper connectors mounted on the upper tubular section and lower connectors mounted on a front side of both the left and right leg sections. Each connector includes means for forming an aperture for passage of a flexible resistive member. The apparatus also has two separate, elongate elastic resistive members adapted for attachment to the cover by means of the connectors. Each resistive member is mountable on a respective one of left and right halves of the cover so that, during use of the cover, sections of the respective resistive member extend along opposite sides of a respective leg of the skater to a skate worn by the skater. The training apparatus also includes fastener mechanisms for securing each resistive member to a respective one of the two skates worn by the skater.
In one exemplary version of this apparatus, the connectors are flexible patches and the aperture provided by each of the patches is in the form of a loop part slidably and releasably receiving its respective one of the resistive members.
According to another embodiment of the training apparatus of this invention, a training apparatus for a skater comprises a flexible fabric cover adapted for wearing over pants or shorts and having a front, a back, a top end and a bottom end. The cover includes a main body section and left and right leg sections extending from and connected to the main body section and capable of covering at least upper portions of the skater's legs. Loop-forming connectors are mounted on both the front and the back of the cover. These connectors include upper connectors mounted on the front and back of the main body section and lower connectors mounted on the front side of both the left and right leg sections. Each of the connectors in use forms a loop. Elongate elastomeric resistive members are attachable to the cover by means of the loops formed by the connectors. At least one of these resistive members is detachably mounted on each of the left and right halves of the cover so that, during use of the training apparatus, sections of the at least one resistive member extend along opposite sides of a respective one of the legs of the skater to a skate worn by the skater and are attached to a fastening mechanism on the skate.
In one exemplary version of this apparatus, the connectors are fabric patches and the loop formed by each connector slidably and releasably receives its respective resistive member. Each resistive member can be a stretchable tube member having two opposite ends and a mechanical fastener secured to each of these opposite ends.
According to a further embodiment, a wearable cover for use with elongate, elastomeric resistive members comprises a cover member made of strong, flexible fabric for wearing on a person's lower body, this cover member including an upper tubular section wearable over a lower trunk region of a user's body and left and right leg sections attached to and extending from a bottom end of the upper tubular section and adapted to cover at least upper portions of the user's legs; and a plurality of loop-forming connectors for mounting the resistive members on the cover member, these connectors including at least four upper connectors mounted on both front and back sides of the upper tubular section and four lower connectors mounted on or adjacent a front side of the left and right leg sections. During use of the cover, the resistive members can be mounted on an exterior of the cover member and attached to footwear of the user in order to enhance exercise of the legs of the user.
Further aspects and features will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments taken together with the accompanying drawings.
For a better understanding of the present invention, and to show more clearly how it may be carried into effect, reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying drawings in which: